The 1994 ‘Richie Rich’ Movie Starring Macaulay Culkin Is a Hit on Netflix for Some Reason
Hey, let’s see if there’s anything good on Netflix …
The hell? Really?
Really.
I fully understand that kids will watch any crap you put in front of them. I also understand that lots of American youngsters were off of school for a snow day and probably bored out of their skulls.
But still.
Richie $ Rich (seriously, his middle name is $) is one of those old-timey comic book characters that should’ve faded into obscurity, yet somehow he gets rediscovered every couple decades. (Netflix had a 2015 live-action comedy series that lasted two seasons.)
I mostly remember “The Poor Little Rich Boy” from an early ’80s ABC cartoon series that I despised. If the character was meant to be enjoyed with a dose of irony or satire, my 7-year-old self did not get that prescription.
Perhaps I’m just looking at Richie Rich through the lens of 21st century realities. Maybe the adventures of privileged kids with obscene amounts of wealth and zero consequences should be kept within the realm of American politics and not the subject of children’s entertainment.
In the ’94 movie, the still-cute Macaulay Culkin plays Richie, the absurdly wealthy heir to the Rich fortune. He has a personal McDonald’s, a roller coaster in his backyard and his family’s images sculpted into Mount Richmore.
©Warner Bros/courtesy Everett Collection
What he doesn’t have, of course, are friends. Boo hoo.
So while you’ve come for the the expected billionaire-kid comedy bits and heartwarming resolution, you get this really dark main plot involving Rich Industries CFO Lawrence Van Dough (John Larroquette) scheming to kill the Rich family with a bomb on their England-bound private plane and steal their fortune. Along with the international terrorism, there is armed kidnapping and attempted mass murder by means of a “molecular reorganizer.”
Of course, the plot is humorously [SPOILER ALERT] foiled, and Van Dough gets fired for all his naughtiness. In the end, Richie’s new friends like him for his personality and totally not for his money and endless supply of cool gadgets and things.
Remind Roger Ebert seemed to like the movie when it was released, giving it three stars and praising the actors for bringing wit and charm:
“One of those actors is Macaulay Culkin, whose recent string of bombs (The Nutcracker, The Good Son, The Pagemaster) almost made me forget that the kid does have an engaging screen personality when he isn’t shoehorned into the wrong projects. This is his comeback, and possibly the last film in which he will be able to play a little boy.”
Rotten Tomatoes reviewers were not as kind, giving the movie a 27% on the Tomatometer and a surprisingly low 32% on the Popcornmeter. Ebert was right about one thing: This was the last time Culkin would play a little boy. He vanished until 2003, when he reinvented himself for mature roles.
Culkin received a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actor. Kevin Costner beat him.
Richie Rich was followed up by the 1998 holiday sequel Richie Rich’s Christmas Wish. It’s worse than you think. So let’s see if we can get it ranking on Disney+.
At the very least, I think we all can agree that Casper the Friendly Ghost is the restless spirit of a deceased Richie Rich:
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June 2024
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